students to facilitate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their
future careers.”
- Marc Riemer, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University (2007)
To my interpretation of this quote, communication is one of the most overlooked skills any one can learn, be it an engineering student or a student from other fields of work. For engineering students, communication skills are essential as it helps to strengthen the bond between a team when taking on projects as it helps to get ideas across easily from one group member to another for example. Communication helps to solve issues where different ideas are needed. This can be done by members of the team through communicating with one another. This in turn helps to build teamwork between them, which is also another key skill. Engineering students are mostly bound to the technical terms they have learnt and, when they are put in a team of students from different industries (business, design, hospitality etc.), they find it difficult to get their ideas out or communicate with them. This could translate into when they become engineers and have to work with people from different fields of the work industry. Therefore, when engineering students learn and gain the skill of communication, they would be better in communicating with their peers from other industries in a combined school project, for example. This could also translate into when they become engineers in different industries of work and will be able to work with their colleagues better. In conclusion, without communication skills, engineering students would not be able to speak well as they would be mostly bound to communicate in technical terms amongst themselves and/or with peers from other industries when they later become engineers in the future.
I like how he emphasized that communication is crucial for sharing ideas effectively. This is often a challenge in group projects, where some members may feel too afraid to voice their thoughts. I also appreciate that he considered communication not only from a student's perspective but also in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ash, for the detailed interpretation.
ReplyDelete